The Carver Alumni Association committee is meeting tonight about the 75th anniversary reception on Feb. 22 - here's a photo of the 1940s Carver basketball team.

The Carver Alumni Association committee is meeting tonight about the 75th anniversary reception on Feb. 22 - here's a photo of the 1940s Carver basketball team.

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Hour photo / Erik Trautmann

Participants in the George Washington Carver Community Center's Youth Development Program pose in front of the Carver Center building in this photo from 2010. It was one of the many programs cited by the mayor as reasons for the city being named America's Promise Alliance 100 Best Communities For Young People that year.

Carver Foundation celebrates 75 years in Norwalk with an alumni reunion

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NORWALK - As an 8-year-old in 1954 Chuck Roy was a resident of the Carver Apartments and had a built-in playground at the nearby Carver Center. For Roy, the Carver Center was more than just a place to play with friends, the lessons he learned there grounded him through good times and bad.

"I have so many good memories as a kid there. I learned to box there, we used to play-act, I was one of three blacks on the Pop Warner football team," said Roy. "Later on, I had gone down a negative road but I always remembered the Carver."

Now a mental health professional, Roy credits the Carver with giving him his base for professional success.

At the Carver Center's kickoff celebration of its 75th anniversary, Roy and other alumni, will be sharing their childhood memories of the Carver Center.

The Feb. 22 alumni reunion is the first of a series of events that will bring Carver alumni together. The reunion will include: a tour of the Carver; reflections by Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Dick Whitcomb, Roy, and Haywood McElveen; and fond memories of the Carver shared by alumni who have not only retained their connection with the Carver, but feel a strong desire to give back to the community that they credit for their success.

"Where I am in life, socially and professionally, has a lot to do with my time at the Carver," said Alumni committee chair Erik Clemons, CEO and president of Connecticut Center for the Arts. "I was always a recipient of Carver services: basketball, rocket club, cub scouts. As a young black man it was identity saving for me. It's important to close the achievement gap and strike a balance for black kids who have lost a sense of purpose and hope in connecting to the community in a positive way."

Alumni Karry Ballard, Hope Boone, and Tonya Williams attended the Carver in the 80's and will share their recollections of late Carver executive director Richard Fuller.

"Mr. Fuller groomed every one of us to go to college," Boone said. "We all went on college tours. He was instrumental in us continuing our education after high school. It was personal to him, he really took us under his wing."

"We have become professionals because of the Carver," said Barry Carlos, a Carver alumnus, who was a juvenile probation officer for 25 years. "We landed great jobs and now we are giving back."

"The Carver Foundation of Norwalk reaches nearly 5,000 individuals each year through a blend of community, educational, enrichment and recreational programs, as well as summer camp and spring and fall national college tours. In addition to its busy community center and family support services, free afterschool programs led by certified, motivated and skilled teachers and other qualified staff and volunteers are based within Norwalk's four middle schools and two high schools. Carver provides a parade of opportunities to disadvantaged youth that build skills and ignites imaginations.

Carver sets and keeps students on a trajectory toward graduating on time and being college-ready. Carver helps disadvantaged youth go as far as their individual talents will take them," according the Carver Center website.

According to Carver executive director Novelette Peterkin, "The Carver touches over 5,000 people each year. Our most significant portion of that is our collaboration with the public schools."

Upcoming celebratory events for the 75th anniversary include: Mayor Moccia hosting a forum at City Hall on Thursday, April 11, to acquaint community leaders with Carver's growing afterschool programming within Norwalk Public Schools; Carver's 75th anniversary gala on Friday, May 17, at Wee Burn Country Club in Darien; Norwalk's first Carver Day is being planned for September; and a Golf Classic event to be held in the fall to honor of Richard Fuller, Carver's former Executive Director.

Alumni committee member Johnnie Mae "Sissy" Weldon attended the Carver in the 1970's.

"Carver is all about children and youth in the community," Weldon said. "That part of it is still the same. I am a product of the Carver and will do what it takes to give back to the community. We're like a family here. We can pick up the phone and every one of us will come together."

"Carver Foundation of Norwalk, Inc. Anniversary Kick-off": 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 22 at the Carver Community Center, 7 Academy St., Norwalk. For alumni 21 years of age and older.

RSVP to Elsie Lopez, 203-838-4305 or elsie@carvercenterct.org.

flections by Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Dick Whitcomb, Roy, and Haywood McElveen; and fond memories of the Carver shared by alumni who have not only retained their connection with the Carver, but feel a strong desire to give back to the community that they credit for their success.

"Where I am in life, socially and professionaly, has a lot to do with my time at the Carver," said Alumni committee chair Erik Clemons, CEO and president of Connecticut Center for the Arts. "I was always a recipient of Carver services: basketball, rocket club, cub scouts. As a young black man it was identity-saving for me. It's important to close the achievement gap and strike a balance for black kids who have lost a sense of purpose and hope in connecting to the community in a positive way."

Alumni Karry Ballard, Hope Boone, and Tonya Williams attended the Carver in the 80's and will share their recollections of late Carver executive director Richard Fuller.

"Mr. Fuller groomed every one of us to go to college," Boone said. "We all went on college tours. He was instrumental in us continuing our education after high school. It was personal to him, he really took us under his wing."

"We have become professionals because of the Carver," said Barry Carlos, a Carver alumnus, who was a juvenile probation officer for 25 years. "We landed great jobs and now we are giving back."

"The Carver Foundation of Norwalk reaches nearly 5,000 individuals each year through a blend of community, educational, enrichment and recreational programs, as well as summer camp and spring and fall national college tours. In addition to its busy community center and family support services, free afterschool programs led by certified, motivated and skilled teachers and other qualified staff and volunteers are based within Norwalk's four middle schools and two high schools. Carver provides a parade of opportunities to disadvantaged youth that build skills and ignites imaginations. Carver sets and keeps students on a trajectory toward graduating on-time and being college-ready. Carver helps disadvantaged youth go as far as their individual talents will take them," according the the Carver Center website.

According to Carver executive director Novelette Peterkin, "The Carver touches over 5,000 people each year. Our most significant portion of that is our collaboration with the public schools."

Upcoming celebratory events for the 75th anniversary include: Mayor Moccia hosting a forum at City Hall on Thursday, April 11th, to acquaint community leaders with Carver's growing afterschool programming within Norwalk Public Schools; Carver's 75th anniversary gala on Friday, May 17, at Wee Burn Country Club in Darien; Norwalk's first Carver Day is being planned for September; and a Golf Classic event to be held in the fall to honor of Richard Fuller, Carver's former Executive Director.

Alumni committee member Johnnie Mae "Sissy" Weldon attended the Carver in the 1970's.

"Carver is all about children and youth in the community," Weldon said. "That part of it is still the same. I am a product of the Carver and will do what it takes to give back to the community. We're like a family here. We can pick up the phone and every one of us will come together."

"Carver Foundation of Norwalk, Inc. Anniversary Kick-off": 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 22 at the Carver Community Center, 7 Academy St., Norwalk. For alumni 21 years of age and older.